


The black death, the banked fire and the thief of words

by Tikor



Series: Lunar oral history of the Usurpation to the present [4]
Category: Exalted
Genre: Fanfiction, Gen, storyteller - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 09:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tikor/pseuds/Tikor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The true wolf falls sick and the marked wolf meets the circus of madness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The black death, the banked fire and the thief of words

The marked wolf and the true wolf and the silver pack roamed the world. They hunted together and shared their kills. They watched each other's hindquarters as they drank from the stream. They loved one another. At times they were burned by the fire. At times they were cut by the stars. But just as often the pack would hunt down the fire and snuff it out. Just as often the stars were afraid to descend to the pack's hunting grounds. No one had seen a golden woman or a golden man for many years, and they were not thought of. This was the way of the world and the marked wolf thought she had found the cycle of days as it would forever be.

After many days like this, a sickness spread out across the world. The game died in the fields and the trees bore no leaves. The streams dried up and the fish swam no more. The birds fell from the skies and the buzzing of insects was no longer heard. The true wolf became sick after eating some dead game, and the marked wolf lay by his side as he suffered. The true wolf asked the marked wolf "What could make the world so sick?" The marked wolf said "I do not know. You must get better so we can find the answer together. Do not leave me in this world with no pack to run with. I do not want to range alone again." The true wolf said "I will not leave you, you are my sister."

So the marked wolf found for the true wolf water that was not foul and game that was not yet dead, and she brought these things to the true wolf who could not run. The true wolf ate but did not regain his strength; he whimpered often in his sickness. One day while she was off hunting what spare game remained she saw the wolf who was many things on the pack's hunting grounds. She bared her fangs and said to him "You leave this place! Go back beyond the world!" The wolf who was many things said "You cannot stop me, for you must tend to your true wolf" then he ran away towards the fire. The marked wolf howled at him but did not chase, for it was true that she had to run back to the true wolf.

When she returned with her game she did not hear the true wolf whimpering any longer. She was relieved for she had grown tired of hearing his pain. She said to the true wolf "I have brought us a kill to share! But along the way I saw the wolf who was many things. I hope our packmates will bite him for running across our lands." To this the marked wolf thought the true wolf would say something, but when he did not she thought he was sleeping. She ate her fill of the kill and lay next to his warm body and fell asleep.

When she awoke she saw that half the kill still remained and that the true wolf had not moved. He was cold even though they had shared the night together. She licked his face to wake him but he did not stir. She could not smell his breath. The marked wolf began to worry that she had been left alone in the world by the true wolf. But she remembered the true wolf coming back from so many wounds she was doubtful a sickness, even one that killed so much, could kill a wolf. Especially her true wolf who was so strong and wise. She ran off to ask the rest of the pack what they knew about it.

While she was running she saw that the fire had banked. She wondered if her sisters and brothers in the pack had finally won in their fight against the fire, but she did so distantly for the true wolf was on her mind. Finally the marked wolf found a sister marked as she was, part of the pack. The marked wolf called to the sister wolf "Sister wolf, did we win against the fire at last?" The sister wolf howled back "Stay where you are! Do not come any closer and we may talk." The marked wolf was afraid. Sister wolf had never treated her like this before. The marked wolf had to howl they were at such a distance "I came because the true wolf is sick and does not answer me. Do you know how I can help him?" Sister wolf's voice sounded scared when she howled back "Did you lick him?" The marked wolf howled "Yes, we share our kills and watch each other's hindquarters and keep each other warm like packmates should. I licked his face this morning when he did not wake." Sister wolf howled back "Then you are cursed! Stay away from the other wolves! There is no pack now!" After that, sister wolf ran off and the marked wolf could not find her. The marked wolf was sad for she still did not know how to help the true wolf, and she felt alone in the world with no pack to run with.

While the marked wolf was running back to the true wolf near the edge of the world she met a circus of madness in shapes she had never seen before. Behind them she saw the edge of the world, but the marked wolf knew that the edge should be farther than here and she had not yet come upon the true wolf. She suspected that she was lost. She asked the strange things "Where is this?" The cups and the staves and the swords and the rings and all the hearts told her a dozen answers at once.

"You are at the new beginning"  
"You are at the end of the world."  
"You are at the cessation of shape."  
"You are on the journey."  
"You are in the Way itself."  
"You are at the Crusade"  
"You are in the duchy of mirrors."  
"You are before the princess Melusine and behind the glittering train."  
"You are in the shade of Veridian."  
"You are in the light of Incarnadine."  
"You are beneath the terrible gaze."  
"You are at the scene of the crime."

When this last speaker spoke he stole their of words - no more sound was made. They smiled and frowned and stared and looked away from the marked wolf with their thousands upon thousands of faces.

When the circus thus stopped to stare at the marked wolf she believed she was beneath the terrible gaze most of all. She ran, for she thought that would be the best way through this bad time. She ran across where the fire once burned but had gone out, but the circus followed her. She swam across the waters, but the circus drank them up and marched behind her. She flew across the skies but the circus filled the clouds with blades which rained down and forced the marked wolf back to the ground. Finally the marked wolf said to herself "I cannot run from these things. The edge of the world is marching towards the center. Even if I have no pack beside me I must fight them or there will be no place where they are not."

The marked wolf bared her fangs and raised her claws to the circus. They spun away from her jaws and spat fire on her fur and cut her with their swords. She fought them as long as she could fight and then she fought them yet more for they were as many as the blades of dead grass the sickness had left behind and she was alone without her pack.

The marked wolf thought she would never stop fighting the circus. And next time I will tell you how it came to be that we still have shapes at all.


End file.
